When the Sun Sets
by WritingWarrior35
Summary: ShellClan, SeaClan, and TreeClan live together in peace, until a prophecy is given to a medicine cat of one of the clans, saying that Sun will rise but Cloud and Shadow will block its light from the clans. What does this prophecy mean? Along with the weight of the prophecy, betrayal, battles, and secrecy lay within the clans. Can they survive? (not good descrip, but please read)
1. AllegiancesLineage

**A/N: Okay, so a lot of this is for me as well as for you. I need to keep up with everything, that's why I added the lineage. Also, I bet it would be nice for you guys to be able to know who's together without guessing. :P**

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 **(all names courtesy of silverpelt dot com/name generator so thank you to that owner because you have more creativity than I DO!)**

 **ALLEGIANCES:**

 **ShellClan**

 **Leader:** Waspstar - completely black tom with yellow eyes

 **Deputy:** Cinderfern - grey she-cat with blue eyes

 **Medicine Cat:** Aspendust - white and brown tom with amber eyes

 **Warriors:**

Scorchdust - grey, brown, and white tom

Tansyskip - brown she-cat with black muzzle and ear tips and a white splotch on her chest

 _Apprentice: Sorrelpaw_

Oakspots - white tom with a brown spot on his nose and one brown spot on his side

 _Apprentice: Dustpaw_

Tigersong - white she-cat with black rimmed blue eyes and her ears are black

Eaglenose - grey tom with thin black stripes and a white chest

 _Apprentice: Slatepaw_

Duckwillow - completely white tom with green eyes

Brokensplash - ginger and white she-cat

 **Apprentices:**

Sorrelpaw - brown she-cat with thin black stripes down her head and pelt and green eyes

Dustpaw - completely brown tom

Slatepaw - orange tom with black tail, one eye circled with black, and all four legs completely black

 **Queens:**

Lilyheart - golden she-cat with yellow eyes

( _Scorchdust's kits: Quailkit - grey she-cat with black upperhead and ears; Jaggedkit - brown and black she-cat with spiky fur)_

Wildsky - calico she-cat with green eyes

( _Duckwillow's kits: Cloudkit - white and grey tom with green eyes; Swiftkit - grey and white she-cat)_

 **Elders:**

Pinebriar - grey and black and white tom with a slightly squashed face

Leaftail - brown and white she-cat

 **SeaClan**

 **Leader:** Hollystar - black and white she-cat with black spot on her nose

 **Deputy:** Crookedtalon - a dark grey tom with long fur and a bushy tail

 **Medicine Cat:** Finchsong - black and grey she-cat with marbled fur

 **Warriors:**

Toadwhisker - ginger tom with yellow eyes

Vixenfrost - black tom with green eyes

Spidershade - black and grey she-cat with yellow eyes

 _Apprentice: Birchpaw_

Ashnose - grey tom

Dovefur - completely white she-cat

Brokenfeather - completely brown tom with half of his right ear missing

Twigflame - brown she-cat with white tail-tip and white paw-tips

 _Apprentice: Cedarpaw_

 **Apprentices:**

Birchpaw - ginger she-cat with darker ginger stripes that look almost brown

Cedarpaw - brown tom with a black tinged tail and chest

 **Queens:**

Heathercloud - black and brown she-cat

 _(Brokenfeather's kits: Sunkit - golden tom; Thistlekit - dark brown tom with yellow eyes; Smokekit - grey and black she-cat)_

 **Elders:**

Fallenspeck - orange tom

 **TreeClan**

 **Leader:** Thornstar - brown tom with yellow eyes

 **Deputy:** Copperspot - light brown she-cat with grey eyes

 **Medicine Cat:** Ferndust - light orange and white she-cat; very skinny and lithe

 _Apprentice: Frostpaw_

 **Warriors:**

Ashfall - completely grey she-cat

Bramblecloud - tabby black and white tom with yellow eyes

Rabbitheart - ginger and white tom with very fluffed fur

 _Apprentice: Duskpaw_

Nettlemask - smoky grey tom with pale green eyes

Owlface - brown tom

 _Apprentice: Mothpaw_

Dawnwillow - black she-cat with greyish-blue tinted fur around her muzzle

 **Apprentices:**

Duskpaw - completely black tom with one white splotch on his chest

Mothpaw - dusky brown she-cat with black spots along her flanks

Frostpaw - completely white she-cat

 **Queens:**

Timberbreeze - brown and white she-cat

 _(Bramblecloud's kits: Shadowkit - black and grey she-cat with blue eyes; Foxkit - ginger she-cat)_

Sedgewhisker - tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

( _Owlface's kits: Mistykit - grey she-cat)_

 **Elders:**

Ivyhawk - pale grey tom

 **LINEAGE:**

 _(only doing living cats; if the family member is dead, they will not be listed)_

 **ShellClan:**

WaspstarxTansyskip - Brokensplash&Duckwillow

DuckwillowxWildsky - Cloudkit, Swiftkit&Sorrelpaw

ScorchdustxLilyheart - Quailkit&Jaggedkit

Pinebriar - Oakspots

EaglenosexTigersong - Slatepaw&Dustpaw

Leaftail - Tansyskip

 **SeaClan:**

HollystarxVixenfrost

CrookedtalonxTwigflame - Birchpaw&Cedarpaw

HeathercloudxBrokenfeather - Sunkit, Thistlekit&Smokekit

DovefurxToadwhisker

 **TreeClan:**

DawnwillowxNettlemask - Frostpaw

RabbitheartxAshfall - Mothpaw&Duskpaw

TimberbreezexBramblecloud - Shadowkit&Foxkit

SedgewhiskerxOwlface - Mistykit

Ivyhawk - Ferndust

ThornstarxCopperspot


	2. Territories&Prophecy

**A/N: Gonna make sure I'm very prepared to write this story well! And since I can't give you a map picture, I have written them out. :P**

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 **Prophecy:** _When the Sun rises, only Cloud and Shadow can shield the clan's from its light._

 **Territories:**

 _ **ShellClan**_

 _ShellClan lives by the ocean, in an alcove on the beach. To reach their camp, one must swim from the sandy shores, through the entrance of the alcove, and then they are basically in the camp. The entire alcove is their home, but the dens are situated further back from the water. There are several little stone "islands" in their alcove, and they are very popular for sunbathing during very warm days. After pulling themselves from the water, the fresh-kill pile is directly in front of them. On the far wall of the alcove - a wall that reaches about 100 feet up - there are little cave entrances that lead to the dens. The elders den and the nursery are situated directly in the middle of the wall, furthest from the water in every direction. The warriors and apprentices dens flank them on either side and are slightly elevated so one has to jump to enter it. On the other side of the warriors den there is a gap between the rock platform and another, that is smaller, and the leader lives in the cave that is on that platform. The medicine cat den is on the other side of the apprentices' den, and there is a long tunnel leading to a large cave with a smaller inner cave that holds the herbs. Their territory ends on one side with an old two-leg pier that was destroyed during a storm(border with SeaClan), and on the other side ends with a slight elevated portion of land that is grassy between the two sandy beaches(border with TreeClan). (Based loosely on this picture: 1/646/23187926386_1f044e9109_ )_

 _ **SeaClan**_

 _Another sea-faring clan, SeaClan's territory is also the sandy beaches as well as the salty ocean. They have some territory in the trees behind the ocean, but it is sparsley used except for herbs and wood mice - which are favorites among the elders. Their camp is not so watery however, and, surprisingly, SeaClan cannot swim as well as ShellClan can. Their prey comes mostly from shallow fish that swim close to the shore, and seabirds. Their camp is situated in the forest area of their territory, in a small hollow that was made naturally. The apprentices and warriors dens are closest to the camp entrance, which is flanked with gorse and brambles, while the elders and the nursery are situated further back. The leader's den is set directly in the middle of camp in a large tree, and the leader's den is settled in the roots of that tree, somewhat fresh-kill pile is set on the other side of the tree, closer to the elders. In the camp, there is a small area near the back that the kits play in, and it is rich with leaves, nuts, and a lot of bugs that the kits love to play with. The medicine cat den is separated from the rest, with a lengthy gorse tunnel that leads into a small clearing with a small rock that has a crevice that they hide their herbs._

 _ **TreeClan**_

 _TreeClan is the only clan of the three that does not rely on the ocean for its survival. TreeClan's camp is very similar to ThunderClan's forest camp. A gorse tunnel leading into a clearing with many brambles and bushes that encircle it. The dens are bushes as well, with the twigs and branches twisted out of them to be comfortable. The leader's den is settled in a small rock that has a den at the bottom of it. It is actually pretty much the ThunderClan forest camp. Just imagine it as that. And they hunt in the forest. Yes, this is it, because I ran out of creativity for camps, sorry. :p_


	3. Prologue

**A/N: I admit, that ending was a little rough-edged, but I couldn't figure out how to end it, haha.**

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 **Prologue**

 _(Aspendust)_

Aspendust settled down at the edge of the tidal pool, glancing around at the other medicine cats. Frostpaw looked excited as ever, laying down beside her mentor, Ferndust, and her body was trembling. This was her first visit to the tidal pool, which the clans called the Moonpool, and she had just been through her ceremony to become medicine cat apprentice in the eyes of StarClan. Now, it was time to share tongues with their ancestors. Finchsong was already asleep, her nose barely touching the still water, and her entire body was still. Aspendust took in a deep breath and stuck his nose into the water, unaffected by the shocking cold that greeted him, something he had become used to as medicine cat for ShellClan.

When he opened his eyes again, he was still on the sandy beach, but the tidal pool and the other medicine cats were nowhere to be seen. Not far from where he stood, another cat was sitting by the water. The tide washed over its paws and belly, threatening to pull it into the ocean with every tug, but the cat stood firm and silent. Aspendust made his way towards the cat, uneasiness resting in every step he took. It was normal for StarClan to appear in the dreams of a medicine cat when they visited the Moonpool, but whenever there was danger in the clans, the cat always sat in the ocean. That much was always consistent. As he grew nearer to the cat, recognition dawned, and the sparkling white pelt finally twitched. The ocean water swished around Aspendust's paws, but it was not cold, as it would have been if he were awake, but it was warm and welcoming. Still, the nervousness in his stomach remained. The she-cat stirred when he sat next to her, turning her head towards him, and her blue gaze dug deeply into his pelt, causing him to shift awkwardly. She wasn't speaking, but there was something urgent in her gaze.

"Sky-" he began, but she interrupted.

"Look."

Aspendust turned his gaze to the ocean when she nodded her head in that direction. The sun was beginning to rise above the sea, it's orange and red rays leaving the water to look bloody and intimidating. Soon, it faded, however, and the sun raised itself further and further into the sky. Aspendust felt uncomfortable in its heat, like his fur were melting off by the second. Still, the white she-cat stared at him, gaze boring into him. Just as the heat was becoming unbearable, a stray cloud floated in front of the sun, and immediately, the pain was gone, and all was peaceful again for the medicine cat. The sun shining through the cloud cast a shadow onto the water and over Aspendust and his companion. Finally, she opened her mouth and spoke again.

" _When the Sun rises, only Cloud and Shadow can shield the clan's from it's light."_ and she was gone. Aspendust jumped to his paws, looking around frantically.

 _What does that mean? Who is the Sun? When has the Sun ever harmed anyone?_ He thought, desperately searching for his former mentor again. It was typical of StarClan to give a vague prophecy and not say more, but never had he received a prophecy so confusing before. He didn't have much more time to search, as he could already feel the effects of the Moonpool breaking, and he knew the sun would be rising now. Aspendust sighed and laid down in the sand, closing his eyes, still trying to sort out the prophecy in his mind.

….

"Be still, Wildsky! Be still and be calm!" Aspendust directed, his paws pressed firmly against the queen's belly. "Bite the stick when I say. Ready…." he felt her body convulse. " _Bite!_ "

Wildsky bit down hard on the twig, and Aspendust was sure he heard it crack between her teeth, but he couldn't worry about that now. Another kit was sliding into the moss nest that the queen was laying in. Outside, he could hear the desperate mews of Duckwillow, as his friend - Scorchdust - held him back, murmuring words of comfort. Aspendust pressed harder into Wildsky's stomach, but he didn't feel anymore kits. She had finished finally, and by the way she panted and muttered, it was a good thing. He looked over at Lilyheart, his eyes urgent, and she stood up instantly, ushering her kits to the back of the den and hurrying back.

"I need you to go to my den and fetch me a few leaves of thyme and four poppyseeds. Quicky. And tell Duckwillow everyone is fine, but he must wait before he comes in."

"Yes, Aspendust!" Lilyheart dipped her head and slipped out of the nursery.

Aspendust heard her pass the news to Duckwillow as he bent his head to lick the two newborn kits roughly, cleaning their fur and warming them. Their heads moved, and their mouths opened, but no sound came out yet. They still weren't warm enough. Wildsky whimpered, staring down at her kits, but soon after, one of them let out a desperate yowl for food, and the queen relaxed, falling back into her nest with exhaustion. Aspendust licked the other kit now, and it took so much longer for this one to mewl, he was frightened that it had been born dead, but at last, it let out a hungry yell, and he sighed in relief. Gently, he lifted each kit and placed them at their mother's belly, and the mewls became quieter as the two kits began to suckle. Lilyheart appeared beside of him again, and he thanked her for the herbs, beginning to make a poultice out of the thyme and hiding two poppyseeds in it for now. He urged Wildsky to sit up and take them.

"Thyme for shock, poppy for sleep," he explained. "you have two beautiful, healthy kits."

"Where's Duckwillow?" she murmured sleepily.

"I'm here, I'm here," the tom meowed, bursting into the nursery at the sound of his name. He looked down at his mate, and then at the two kits suckling on her teat, and his eyes softened. "They are so amazing." he purred.

"What're their names gonna be?" Jaggedkit, one of Lilyheart's kits, piped up. She was still at the back of the nursery with her sister, Quailkit, but both of them looked on with curiosity.

"This one should be Swiftkit," Aspendust purred, looking between the parents. "She came quickly, and with no difficulty." Wildsky looked down at the she-kit, eyes full of love.

"I like that name. Swiftkit." Duckwillow nodded his agreement, then nudged the tom - who was the same grey-and-white as his sister.

"What about him?"

"Look at the way he's so fluffy!" Quailkit squealed, inching closer and closer, eyeing her mother with every step. Lilyheart looked at Wildsky, and the other queen nodded in consent, and Lilyheart nudged both of her kits forward gently to meet the two new members of the clan.

"Yeah! He's fuzzy," Jaggedkit scrunched up her nose, looking at her sister and they both giggled.

"What about Cloudkit?" Duckwillow suggested, looking at the older kits fondly and then back at his own. Aspendust froze as Wildsky agreed with the name. _Cloudkit? Could it be… No. He is just a kit, it can't be._

Even though he gave himself reassurance that this kit could not possibly belong to the prophecy he had received nearly a moon ago, something told him that this young cat was important. He would do great things for his clan, and perhaps, save them. Aspendust, feeling the nursery was becoming slightly crowded, slipped out to let the new family become acquainted, meeting the stares of many of his clanmates. Waspstar stood by the warriors den, his pelt dripping water from where he had swam to the main part of their camp, and he was speaking with Cinderfern, but when he emerged, all eyes turned to him.

"Two kits, both perfectly healthy." he announced, and headed towards his den.

Aspendust lay down in his nest, sighing with exhaustion, but he knew there was no way he could sleep. His mind kept drifting back to Cloudkit, the fluffy grey-and-white kit who, at this moment, seemed too weak and pitiful to ever save the clans. But Skystorm had told him there would be Sun, Cloud, and Shadow...could this new member of ShellClan be one of the prophecy to save all the clans?


	4. Chapter 1

**A/N: Heeeerrrreeee we go! :) Please ENJOY and REVIEW!**

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Cloudkit woke to the prodding of his sister, Swiftkit, and the excited murmur that was ringing through the nursery. Lilyheart was fussing frantically over Quailkit and Jaggedkit, who squealed and tried to shift away from her tongue, but she always caught them with one paw and dragged them back. He didn't need to be told what was happening, as he already guessed it. It was time for his den mates apprentice ceremony. They were two moons older than he and his sister, and the two of them had been talking about their ceremony for ages, always bragging about how they would be warriors before Cloudkit and his sister. Even so, he would be sad to see them go, as they had fun together. But, it wouldn't be long now until they were apprentices as well, and then he'd be training to be a warrior!

"When is your ceremony?" Swiftkit piped up excitedly.

"Waspstar said soon! He said-"

"Stop moving, Jaggedkit," Lilyheart snapped, cuffing her around the ears and then continuing to lick her ears roughly.

"Mother, I'm _clean_ , just let me be!" Jaggedkit complained, ducking away from her mother's lick again and managing to cross the nursery. Quailkit took Lilyheart's brief distraction and slipped away as well.

"Come back, you must look your best!" Lilyheart insisted, and she followed her kits quickly out of the nursery, still fussing. Wildsky let out a purr of amusement, watching them leave and then turning back to her kits.

"Don't worry, I won't be so intense," she promised, nudging them out of the nest and standing up to stretch. Waspstar's voice filtered into the den, calling all cats old enough to swim to shore for the ceremony. Cloudkit and Swiftkit nearly tripped over themselves trying to get out of the den, but their mother stopped them, shaking her head with an amused gaze. "No, no. You two must stay here until the ceremony is over. Don't think about sneaking out, either, I'll be right by the entrance."

Cloudkit huffed and sat back on his haunches, watching Wildsky slip out of the den, and he could just make out her familiar shape through the lichen that covered the den. He glanced over at Swiftkit, who was glaring at their mother's shape as well, her little tail-tip twitching in irritation. He nudged her good-naturedly, crouching into a playful battle crouch and letting out a hiss.

"In two moons, no one can stop us from doing whatever we want," he told her confidently. "Because we'll be apprentices! And we're going to be _so_ good at it, they'll let us do whatever we want to do, and give us anything we want!"

"Yeah!" Swiftkit agreed eagerly, her eyes lightening as she fell into a crouch as well. "And the other clans will fear the names Swiftpaw and Cloudpaw, before we're even warriors!"

Cloudkit laughed as he launched himself at his sister, tackling her to the ground, and the two tussled together in the stale mossy nest that no one had occupied since he could remember. They laughed and rolled around in the nest until a stern voice called their names, and suddenly, he was being dragged off of Swiftkit and hanging in the air by his scruff. The familiar scent of their father, Duckwillow, flooded over him and as he was set down again on the stone floor, he glanced up to see the tom looking stern above them.

"You two are destroying the nursery. You are nearly apprentice-aged, you should know better than this."

"We would've played outside-"

"I don't want excuses," Duckwillow interrupted Swiftkit with a lash of his tail. "you should know to behave no matter where you are."

"Yes, Duckwillow," Cloudkit and Swiftkit murmured together.

"Now, Cinderfern sent me to begin your swim training, but with this behavior I have half a mind to make you wait another moon."

"No!" Swiftkit squeaked. "Please, we're really sorry, Duckwillow. We really, _really_ are. We promise we'll _never_ do it again, not _ever_."

"Yeah, really!" Cloudkit agreed fervently. Duckwillow looked between them both, and his eyes softened as he purred.

"I should think so. Now, come on," he told them, disappearing out of the nursery again. Cloudkit and Swiftkit exchanged excited glances and hurried after him. Finally, they would learn how to swim! It was the clan law that each kit would learn to swim at four moons old, so once they became apprentices, they wouldn't have to waste time learning and get ahead with their training. The kits parents were in charge of swimming lessons, and in most cases, their father's took the duty upon themselves. Cloudkit saw Quailpaw and Jaggedpaw just disappearing out of the camp with their mentors as he and his sister hurried over to where Duckwillow waited by the edge of the rock. The water glinted below them menacingly.

"Right. You two are four moons old, and it is time for you to learn to swim. I must warn you, it will take time to become good enough that you can leave camp. Usually, kits begin to perfect swimming just as they become apprentices. So, don't get any ideas of leaving camp. Cats have died trying to swim before they're ready," he told them seriously. Cloudkit's eyes widened in fear, and he took a small step back, but Duckwillow urged him to the edge of the water again.

"Don't worry, I would never let you drown. Sorrelpaw made it through, didn't she?" he reassured them. Cloudkit glanced across the camp to see Sorrelpaw lounging on one of the many rock islands in camp, sunbathing along with her friend, Slatepaw. She was watching them through slitted eyes. Sorrelpaw was Cloudkit's sister from a different litter, and he had never really talked to her much, as she normally spent her days with her mentor or fellow apprentices.

"Now. Cloudkit, let's start with you," Duckwillow said, and he dove head first into the water, coming up again and taking in a deep breath. He motioned for the grey-and-white tomkit to join him. Cloudkit stared at the water with trembling paws. Ever since he could remember, he always heard his mother talk about how dangerous the water was. He remembered one time in particular when she spoke about one of the elders' to Lilyheart, when she thought the kits were asleep, who went for a swim and got sucked up in some sort of current and was never seen again, probably drowned. He whimpered, eyes widening in terror.

"I don't want to," he whined.

"Don't be afraid. I told you, I won't let you drown. This is just for you to get used to the water now. I'll hold onto your scruff the whole time, I promise, I just need you to jump in first," Duckwillow spoke to him in a soft, gentle tone.

"Let me go, I'm not scared," Swiftkit spoke up, sounding smug as she took a step towards the water, but Duckwillow shook his head.

"No. Cloudkit will get into the water, give him time. It's natural for kits to be afraid of the water," it wasn't Duckwillow who spoke, however, it was Sorrelpaw. She appeared beside them, her pelt glinting and dripping water from where she had swam over to the main part of camp. "I know I was."

"Thank you, Sorrelpaw," Duckwillow nodded approvingly, eyes glinting with pride. Cloudkit looked between them. _He must be so proud to have a daughter who isn't afraid of anything, like Sorrelpaw. She's almost a warrior!_ His tail drooped at the thought. _And here I am, scared to get in stupid water._ Cloudkit stood up straighter, his neck fur bristling slightly in determination. He could do this. If Swiftkit wasn't afraid, then he wasn't. If Sorrelpaw said he could do it, then he could. She was next to him now, looking down with a thoughtful gaze.

"We'll go together, okay?" she offered, and he nodded gratefully. "Ready?"

Cloudkit waited for her call, his paws still trembling with fear, but when Sorrelpaw told him to jump, he felt his paws lift away from the rock and then he was under water. Terror struck him. Water was all around, he couldn't breathe, and he felt like the water was pulling him down, down, down, never to come back to surface and take a breath again. Then, something sharp clenched into the fur around his neck, and his head burst to the surface, where he began to cough and sputter up water. When he was finally able to open his eyes, he was greeted with the contented gaze of Sorrelpaw, who treaded in the water easily, the current tugging at her fur. Duckwillow, as he had promised, was holding tightly to his scruff.

"See, I told you you could do it. Wasn't so bad, huh?" Sorrelpaw purred. Cloudkit shivered at the cold water, but his eyes were bright.

"That was awesome! I was scared, but now that I'm not drowning, that was awesome!" he exclaimed, and Sorrelpaw mrrwed with amusement.

"I wanna go, I wanna go!" Swiftkit begged from the stone, pacing up and down and looking at the water eagerly. Duckwillow murmured for her to be patient around Cloudkit's fur, but her eagerness was not subdued. Sorrelpaw swam forward.

"Here, let me take Cloudkit. You go ahead and work with her," she offered. Duckwillow hesitated. "I'm as good a swimmer as anyone. We won't even go far,"

"Okay," Duckwillow consented, letting Sorrelpaw take Cloudkit in her jaws now. "but don't go out of earshot. And if anything goes wrong, call for me at once."

Sorrelpaw nodded, and Cloudkit's muzzle sank underwater momentarily at the movement, and then they were moving through the water. Sorrelpaw swam with such ease, even with another cat in her mouth, and Cloudkit wished one day he'd find it that easy to swim. It was very important for ShellClan cats to learn to swim, as their camp was only accessible through the water, and to get to shore, one needed to swim as well. They went a little ways away from Duckwillow, who had caught Swiftkit's scruff as she jumped into the water willingly, and was swimming her back to the shore to try again, and then Sorrelpaw dropped him. His eyes flashed wide for a moment, fully expecting to go under again with no support, but before he could become fully panicked, his paws touched stone beneath the surface and he sighed.

"Not many cats know that this spot is so shallow," she told him, eyes sparkling. "I always told myself that I'd teach my kits how to swim right here, or I'd make Slatepaw,"

"Slatepaw?" Cloudkit wondered. "Why would he teach your kits how to swim?"

"That doesn't matter right now," she purred. "I'm here to teach you. Now, you can sit there and get used to how the water feels. Can you feel the way the water is pulling at you? Almost like it is trying to drag you back into the depths?"

Cloudkit nodded, looking down at his paws, astounded as to how he was keeping his balance with how persistent the current was. "Yes."

"That's the ocean tide, coming in and then going back out. It's very important to learn how to work _with_ the tide rather than resisting it."

"What does that mean?" Cloudkit asked her, frowning in confusion. He didn't understand how anyone could let the tide take them, when that was exactly what had happened to one of the elders when he was younger. He didn't want to disappear without a trace and never be seen again. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"The ocean is dangerous, and that's that. But, if you can learn not to get freaked out by the tide, it makes it much safer," she tried to explain, but Cloudkit was still confused.

"I still don't understand."

"Okay, let me explain a different way. When the tide moves out, you swim out, but when the tide comes in, don't swim at all."

"But then you don't go anywhere!" Cloudkit responded incredulously. "How does that work?"

"Maybe I'll show you tomorrow, but for now, I think Duckwillow wants to stop," she told him, lifting him out of the water and plopping him down onto the dry stone ground, climbing out of the water with him. She shook out her fur, splattering him, and he scrambled out of the way with an indignant 'hey,' making her laugh. "Duckwillow wants you, and I think Tansyskip is looking for me."

"Sorrelpaw," Cloudkit called as she began to pad away, and she turned back to him. "thanks for helping me."

"Sure, it was fun," she purred, then turned and went off to find her mentor.

Cloudkit looked round to see Duckwillow waiting by the nursery with Swiftkit, who was bouncing up and down, and as he got closer, he heard her talking excitedly about what she had learned today. She only stopped when Duckwillow slapped his tail over her mouth, causing her to stop and spit out his fur, but here eyes never lost their glint.

"How was it? Did you do okay? Did you get hurt?" Duckwillow questioned Cloudkit, who shook his head quickly.

"No, Sorrelpaw just told me about the tide," he told his father truthfully.

"Oh, good. That's good." His father looked relieved. Cloudkit hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth again to speak.

"Duckwillow, can Sorrelpaw teach me to swim from now on?"

Duckwillow's eyes flooded with hurt, and he sat back on his haunches, frowning. Cloudkit felt a pang of guilt, having not meant to hurt his father's feelings at all. He had just really enjoyed spending time with his older sister, and he felt like she could teach him much better by himself than if he tried learning with Swiftkit, who was ready for anything. Cloudkit didn't want her teasing him if he didn't get something right, and he knew Sorrelpaw wouldn't do something like that.

"Why? Did I-"

"No! It's not you, at all. I think I'd learn better alone, is all, and I think Swiftkit really wants you to teach her. She's been talking about it for _ages_ ," Cloudkit lied with this, but when he looked at Swiftkit, it looked like she had caught on quickly to his deceit and she nodded very seriously. Duckwillow looked between them for a few moments, then finally sighed.

"All right. I'll see if she wants to teach you, but if she says no, that's her choice and you can't force her to do it, understood?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"Good. You two go and fetch some prey for your mother, I think she's feeling unwell," Duckwillow told them, and then he padded away.

Cloudkit watched him go feeling much better than he had when his swimming lesson had first begun. The water wasn't as bad as he thought, and maybe Sorrelpaw would be able to teach him for good, if she wasn't too busy with her mentor. Swiftkit scampered off to the fresh-kill pile, holding her head up high importantly as she approached it, but Cloudkit stayed put. Instead, he looked towards the sound of cats entering camp, and saw Quailpaw and Jaggedpaw swimming across with their mentors - Tigersong and Cinderfern - following close behind. When they pulled themselves out of the water, Cloudkit went to greet them, eyes wide with curiosity.

"What was it like?" he asked Quailpaw as soon as he was close enough. She brightened at the sight of him, and stopped while her sister and the two warriors went on to the fresh-kill pile. Quailpaw held a small fish, and she dropped it at her paws to respond to Cloudkit.

"It was so amazing! And the ocean is huge, and so is the beach, and we even get some of the forest. It's awesome."

"I can't wait until me and Swiftkit get to go out!" Cloudkit said, kneading his claws on the stone floor in excitement.

"Oh! Cinderfern said you and Swiftkit got your first swimming lessons today. How did that go?" Quailpaw asked, flicking her ear at the sound of Jaggedpaw calling to her from the apprentices den, but not turning away just yet.

"It was scary at first, but then Sorrelpaw started helping me, and it got much better," he told her honestly. "What was your first time swimming like?"

"About the same, except Sorrelpaw didn't help me. Scorchdust was a really good teacher though, he's a great swimmer," Quailpaw purred. Again, her ear flicked as her sister called for her a second time, but she still didn't turn away. "I heard Sorrelpaw and the other two older apprentices are going to be warriors at sunhigh tomorrow."

"Really?" Cloudkit looked around to see if he could find Sorrelpaw in the clearing, but she was nowhere to be seen, maybe out of camp hunting with her mentor. "Do you think she'd still have time-"

" _Quailpaw, will you hurry up!_ " Jaggedpaw yelled, and this time the apprentice turned her head towards the apprentices den, where her sister was waiting along with Dustpaw. She sighed, looking back to Cloudkit with an apologetic look.

"I'd better go. We can talk later, I promise," she told him brightly, then hurried off to join her sister. Cloudkit watched her go, his tail drooping slightly. He and Quailpaw had been really close when they were together in the nursery, but he was just now starting to realize that until he was an apprentice too, they wouldn't get to spend much time together. _That's okay,_ he thought, turning to head back to the nursery. _I only have two more moons until I'm an apprentice. I'll be out exploring the territory before I know it. And catching prey for my clan...and hanging out with Quailpaw again…_ Cloudkit slipped into the nursery while he thought. Wildsky was already asleep in her nest, and when he curled up next to Swiftkit against his mother's fur, it was warmer than usual. _Duckwillow did say she wasn't feeling well._ He remembered, and shook it off, curling tighter into the nest and falling asleep with the picture of himself swimming across the ocean as a great warrior, the best his clan ever knew.


End file.
